


these walls and all these picture frames

by pettigrace



Series: sing it like a hummingbird [3]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Episode: s07e22 You Have Saved This City, Friendship, Gen, Meta, Relationship Study
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-16
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-12-20 18:20:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21061100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pettigrace/pseuds/pettigrace
Summary: Diggle reflects on Oliver and Felicity's retreat to solitude.





	these walls and all these picture frames

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!  
Small little tidbit I wrote before I dive into the last season (oh my God) of Arrow. It's not much and I don't vouch for accuracy since I couldn't rewatch season 7's finale, but I hope you enjoy!
> 
> The title is from Darren Criss' "This Time".

Sometimes Dig catches himself thinking that his life would have been much easier had he never met Oliver Queen. For starters, he would not have been pulled into committing a crime whenever he left the house; either with lying to just about anyone or explicitly violating the anti-vigilante laws sewed into the city ever since The Hood first showed up. He would never have had to deal with speedsters or other metahumans and he would have never had to fight off doppelgängers or freaking aliens if it hadn’t been for Oliver’s ties to Barry Allen and all the scientific crap they pull over in Central.

A more rational part of his brain always points out that even if he  _ didn’t _ have anything to do with Oliver, he would have still had to deal with all of those things. Even if Slade had brought his army due to personal problems with Oliver, they  _ did _ affect the entire city. The aliens would have attacked the world even if Dig hadn’t been by Oliver’s side. Things like that, they don’t care for things as trivial as the friendship between two individuals. And even if Dig hadn’t been a vigilante at those points already, there wouldn’t have been anything that could have kept him from fighting. He wouldn’t have been able to help it, not when people were in danger around him.

And, truth be told, he couldn’t have wished for a better partner than Oliver Queen.

That thought, as true as it may be, always makes him chuckle lightly. Who would have thought all those years ago that the freewheeling son of Starling City’s richest family hid such honor inside himself? Of course, it had been foolish to assume being stranded on an island for five years wouldn’t have any effect on him, but none of them could even guess just how much that is the case.

Dig’s still not sure if Oliver’s ever disclosed  _ all _ of it to him. Or anyone, really. The Oliver that he knows has always had a hard time letting people in. It’s a miracle that Dig got under his skin as much as he did.

He almost prides himself in unveiling so many secrets of Oliver’s. Not because it isn’t something that many achieve, but because it means he gets to see so many facets of him. When he first learnt that Oliver was the man under the mask, he’d figured it’s been about the attention - it would have fit to the Oliver Queen the city knew, the mask the tabloids still wanted to paint on him (and  _ that _ was the one Oliver embraced, though out of necessity). He’s learnt quickly that it’s been anything but that, though the many layers of Oliver’s approach are still slowly opening up to him, even now. Dig knows that Oliver doesn’t do it for the attention. He doesn’t even do it for the satisfaction that comes with doing the right thing. No, for Oliver it usually means the very opposite, everything he does. It seems like an endless fight, with villain after villain terrorizing the city, even if they should know by now that it is protected. And it’s Oliver, who always felt responsible for it.

Until now.

Which is to say, Dig imagines that Oliver still feels very much responsible for every tragedy that may befall the citizens or Star, even if he does take this step now. It’s guilt that hovers over everything that Oliver does, that taints every decision that he makes, and it doesn’t let him do anything just for  _ himself _ . That he’s fighting  _ against _ that feeling for once, and not  _ for _ it, it’s… it’s incredible. It fills Dig with pride to witness that development in his friend.

There’s many brave things that Oliver has done in his life, but deciding to do something for himself, to step back from all the fighting and just live his life, might be the bravest of them all.

Dig would be the last person to keep him from it, honestly. He’s known from the first second that Oliver and Felicity would be good, if not perfect, for each other. Seeing them move into solitude where he won’t be able to see them as much does sting a little, but he knows that it’s necessary.

For them.

For their kid.

He still can’t quite believe it. It’s the only reason for Oliver retreating ultimately, he knows that. He’s tried it often enough before, leaving his vigilantism behind, but it’s never been fruitful in the end. But now there’s a small kid involved and Oliver can’t miss out on those moments. Dig doesn’t want him to. He was already robbed of the chance when it came to William. 

He knows that Oliver has wanted kids for ages. A picture-perfect life that should have been to obtain if it hadn’t been for the course his life had taken all of a sudden. Dig has seen the looks he’s given JJ whenever they’ve managed to get together without any threat looming over them. He’s witnessed the way Oliver had allowed Rene to reveal his identity to the public just so that he could ensure Zoe’s safety. He’s always understood the love a parent has for their kid, even if he didn’t think he’d ever have the chance to feel it himself.

But now he can and Dig will be damned if he let anything get in the way. Oliver beat himself up over things that were out of his reach and then even stronger so when it came to things he  _ was _ at fault for, bringing them up even when they were already long forgotten and paid for. There’s so much care inside of Oliver, for everyone surrounding him, even if he won’t show it easily; it’s always been subtle actions over words or hugs for him, but now it’s time that this finally changes. He deserves it more than anyone else that dig knows: finally relax and dote on his kid and wife as much as he wants, far away from every danger.

It isn’t goodbye, Dig knows that: like hell would he manage to stay away from them and their child, even if he tried. Plus, the security surrounding their house is ARGUS and he’s practically the head of it (well, married to her, at least) so it’s kinda his duty to check in, right? And he can’t really imagine that Oliver - whatever the reason for his disappearance he may feed to the team - wouldn’t ask for updates. You can’t just drop your vigilance like that. Dig  _ expects _ lots of texts and phone calls for at least a few months.

It isn’t goodbye, but as he stands there with Oliver and Felicity, the original Team Arrow, it does feel an awful lot like an ending. And he supposes it makes sense; it started with the three of them and right now, it seems like it’s gonna end with the three of them, too.

In a way. 

And maybe it’s time that it does.

Lord knows that, after everything, they deserve that. Maybe he does, too. But that thought, he decides, is something for another day. For now, he has to get his friends out of here and towards their future.

**Author's Note:**

> **Please leave a comment!**
> 
> If you liked this, come check out my [tumblr](https://joanthangroff.tumblr.com) or talk to me on [twitter](http://twitter.com/Ll4MDUNBAR).


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